Travels

Before starting the drive to Nevada and Sheldon NWR, Michelle and I met up in Moab and immediately set off to Potash Road to go rock climbing, setting up topropes on slabs overlooking the Colorado River.

We were fortunate enough to run into some climbers from Colorado who let us try the crack climbs they had set up – climbs out of our reach to set up as we lack both the thousand dollars needed to buy cams and the knowledge to set them. The climbs were awesome – and by making it up this one (below) I won a bet and two of the climbers took us out for dinner.

The next two days were also spent climbing, with breaks at noon to hide from the desert heat and take naps. And then, onward to Nevada and summer jobs. We drove out of the sandstone, up into the Wasatch mountains, foolishly did not stop for gas in Salt Lake City, and headed past the Salt Lake into the Bonneville Salt Flats. As we drove west, the ground turned to a hard, flat crust of salt, and my gas low light came on. The towns marked on the map turned out not to be (as is often the case in the west).

We walked out onto the salt flats, onto the perfectly flat crust of salt covering the valley. Despite the heat of the day, it was cool there, the white surface absorbed no heat. We stopped to see the sign regarding land speed records (no mention of motorcycles, only cars), then continued driving, and were lucky enough to find a gas station before I became stranded in the desert. Below: modern art in the salt flats.

We camped in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada, as the national forest promised free camping. But… the mountains were still snowed in, and we were forced to pitch our tent by the side of the road. We ate a pack of bacon and a half dozen eggs in order to have energy to stay warm and not get hypothermia, and amused ourselves watching the silly turkeys at our campsite.

The next day we made it to Sheldon NWR and Badger Cabin, home for the summer.